Writer's block

I haven't blogged in a while. Mostly because I am always feeling sick. I have not thrown up, but I always feel nauseated. I've actually lost weight because I can't eat anything.

I started writing a post and got 3 paragraphs of extreme pessimistic whining about how terrible I feel. Then I tried to change tactics and be extremely optimistic and talk about how excited I am to be a mom and try to come up with some positive goals as New Year's resolutions.

Neither of these situations is entirely true. I am not fully incapacitated and miserable, but with the amount of crying I have been doing lately, I cannot pretend that I am extremely happy.

I've reached a writer's block and I do not know how long it will last. So until then, I probably will not be posting.

A New BABY!!

We are so excited to let everyone know that we are going to be parents in August!

We look forward to the adventures that this new opportunity will bring.

We surprised our families with the news on Christmas. We told Ben's parents to save a spot for us in their "Grandchildren Brag Book." We gave my parents a webcam and a note that read:
"This gift will help you keep an eye on your fifth grandchild when he or she comes in AUGUST."

The reaction was way more than we expected. The video is priceless:

Birthday Celebrations

Ben turned 25.

And about 25 people showed up to his birthday party.

This truly made him feel loved. Thanks to all of our great friends who came to celebrate with us!

I was really worried that we would not be able to fit everyone that RSVP-ed into our tiny apartment, but we did it and it was such a success! And since the majority of our guests happened to be Vocal Point members, it definitely got loud and crazy. The evening included snacks and birthday cake, a rousing game of "Catch Phrase," and of course memorable sing-alongs of Vocal Point songs. And with that much talent crammed into one tiny apartment, "Happy Birthday to Ben" was definitely a performance:

Reflecting on the evening, we were once again reminded of how wonderful it is to have such good friends. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many awesome people who inspire us to be better.

And I am so blessed to have my best friend with me for eternity. I love you, Sweetheart!

Happy Birthday.

Christmas Cowboy

Ben is a bass. He can sing some very low notes and it is beautiful.

When we first moved into our ward, he quickly caught the attention of Miss Janie Thompson, a legend at BYU (there is a giant portrait of her in the HFAC). She is 89 years old and has a magnificent history: she is the original founder of the Young Ambassadors and Living Legends performing groups at BYU, as well as being involved in countless other achievements and accomplishments. This woman knows her stuff and has performed with and trained the best of the best.She got really excited when she heard Ben read a quote in Sunday School and even interrupted the lesson to say, "What an amazing bass voice!" (Which is funny because Ben's speaking voice is not that low...) and invited him to come to choir. Then when he let slip that he is a former member of Vocal Point, she fell in love. Literally. She dotes on him like crazy!

She directs our ward choir, often having us sing things that are very advanced and complicated (not just simple hymn arrangements), many of them ones that she herself has arranged and/or composed. They are actually quite amazing and uplifting.

She also conducts the ward's annual Christmas show, which is quite a production. The youth and primary children perform numbers that she has written and choreographed and she accompanies all of them on the piano and leads the caroling (again, not just simple carols but complicated arrangements).

This year she pulled out a song that she wrote called "Cowboy Christmas" and had us over a few times so she could coach Ben. This song is funny because Ben sings about all of the "cowboy" things he likes to do. She thinks it is pretty cute. But what we find absolutely hilarious is that it has nothing to do with Christmas, except for a random line that she throws in at the end where he wants to "wish a very Merry Christmas to you." It got a lot of laughs at the ward Christmas party and Janie was glowing with pride.

She also wrote another ending to the song so that he doesn't have to sing it just at Christmas time. So Ben's talent has stolen the heart of another lovely lady and we now have the sheet music to a Janie Thompson original (in her own handwriting, too) and sweet memories of a great experience with a great lady.

Party, Pirates, Pizza, and Puckers

For Ben's birthday my parents took us all out to dinner (thanks Mom and Dad!) and Ben decided he wanted to go to Pirate Island Pizza. It is kind of like a Pirate-themed Chuck-E-Cheese with a dark atmosphere that makes you feel like you are in a bog with a giant Pirate ship that periodically shoots off smoke from the cannons and flashes lightning. The servers are all dressed like pirates and Ben and I saw a Jack Sparrow character bussing tables that was absolutely hilarious!

The menu items all have funny pirate names (each type of pizza is named after a ship) and the kids get pirate hats and a balloon person comes around and makes pirate swords for them. We actually got Marcus and Ian to try eating some lemons. Ian's face is classic:

It was a fun night out with the family. Happy Birthday Ben!

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Ben reached a milestone today. He is now officially a quarter of a century old!

We didn't do much today to celebrate because his party is next week, but something really exciting did happen. After an awesome summer in San Antonio, doing an internship that he absolutely loved, Ben was offered a full-time position at USAA. We have spent the last couple of months deciding whether to accept, looking at the pros and cons.

Pros: the security of having a job right out of college, a great company, great pay, excellent benefits, doing work that he enjoys, the possibility of getting his MBA at the University of Texas San Antonio, very low cost of living and great housing market, which leads to a realistic dream of being homeowners much sooner than expected!

Cons: being very far away from family, missing the mountains and the snow, extremely hot summers

Obviously, the pros won out and Ben officially accepted the offer today and is so incredibly excited! I couldn't be prouder of him.

So in June we start the next chapter of our lives in San Antonio, Texas!

Christmas Carols

Ben is so talented and such an amazing bass, many of his friends often ask him to sing at different events as part of a quartet or group number.

So Ben was asked to sing a few Christmas carols at a fancy dinner for the BYU Law School faculty and staff at the Skyroom restaurant in the WILK. Lucky for me, I got to go along and enjoy an amazing dinner and get some video of these amazing singers:

Silver Bells

Danny Boy

White Christmas
Ben had a lot of fun doing this one because he got a solo, which doesn't often happen for the bass.

Silent Night